SEAL'd Fate (Brotherhood of SEAL'd Hearts) Read online

  He’d call me? He’d call me. The fucking nerve of that man.

  I would have laughed about the whole thing if it wasn’t so pathetic. I had never expected to see that face of his ever again. But I suppose life sometimes has some strange surprises for us all, doesn’t it? One moment I was dozing in bed and imagining what I’d wear to a fun Saturday date with a guy who wasn’t really that bad, all things considered, and the next moment I see a half-naked Hugo Turner in my hallway, smiling just as arrogantly as he did years ago.

  Well, fuck him. Sure, there might have been a time in the past where him stumbling back into my life would have felt like an answered prayer. But I wasn’t that girl anymore. Nope. I had shrugged him off once before, and I guess I’d just have to do it again. Did I care that he was banging my idiot roommate at 2am last night? Nope. He wasn’t my boyfriend anymore, and at the end of this week, Kirsten wouldn’t even be my roommate anymore.

  Some women have rebound relationships after they ‘break up’. Not me. I took on extra coursework, finished my degree early and landed a badass job that kept me plenty busy. And you know what? Turns out you really don’t need no man. I would never have achieved what I did in the last five years if Hugo hadn’t left. Doesn’t fate work in interesting ways?

  I ambled over to the kitchen to make myself some coffee and began a mental catalogue of all the things I judged him for. First of all, he was still a man-whore, that much was clear. Going after Kirsten? Pitiful. Secondly, he was immature. Running away from a one night stand in his underwear? Not a good look. Third, even though he made a big deal at the time about pursuing a dumb career in the military, obviously that hadn’t panned out for him either. Not only had he left me to go and play cops and robbers overseas, clearly even that wasn’t enough to hold his attention. So, to conclude, good riddance.

  I perched on the kitchen stool and tested my lips against the hot coffee. When Kirsten crawled into the kitchen I simply nodded in her direction. Skinny bitch.

  “Hey,” she mumbled and then rooted around in the fridge. “Sorry, uh, about last night.”

  “Last night? What do you mean?” I said and took a too-hot sip.

  “You know, the uh… the noise,” she said and looked at me, carton of orange juice in hand.

  “I didn’t hear anything,” I said and shrugged. I certainly wasn’t going to encourage her. She glared at me, then took one of the stools.

  “Oh, well, good. I would hate to wake you up,” she said. I gave her a sweet smile. In truth it had been like sleeping next to a monkey house last night, the way she carried on, but I couldn’t let her know that. Thinking of that absolute ass of a man in any sexual way whatsoever was just something I wasn’t going to allow myself this morning, no way, no how.

  “Last night was craaaazy,” she said and smiled to herself. God I was so glad I’d gotten that promotion and could live in my own place uptown as of next month. I was done sharing apartments with the likes of Kirsten.

  “We went out to The Pits with, you know Jess and the gang? Anyway, we had such a fun time, I met this guy… Becky, I swear you’ve never seen a guy like this before—”

  “Hey, I noticed you still haven’t cleared my deposit yet,” I said.

  “Your…?”

  “My deposit.”

  She had really astounding blue bags under her eyes.

  “Yeah, yeah, you’ll absolutely get that before you move on, no worries,” she said and took a swig of orange juice.

  I looked her up and down and tried to think of what on earth could have drawn a man like Hugo to a woman like her. I didn’t know whether to resent him or pity her.

  “Anyway, he’s a marine, right? Like, an actual marine. Muscles like this,” she said and traced a giant bicep in the air. “Super funny guy, man did we laugh…”

  “Obviously he just used you,” I said.

  We locked eyes.

  “Are you serious?” she said eventually and took another sip. Kirsten and I had shared a place for less than a year, but we already had a cold-burning feud between us that felt more like the thing ancient sworn enemies have.

  “You had so much fun, he decided to up and leave before, what, nine?” I said, glancing at the clock on the wall.

  She took another swig, loudly crammed the carton into the fridge door and left, probably to go and use all the hot water in the shower. I sighed. What did it matter to me? Her and Hugo could marry and have a million babies for all I cared. I was a successful woman with a career on the up and today, yes in just two hours; I was going to meet a man who was actually a decent, principled adult, for a proper date.

  In fact, if anybody should be calling anybody, I should be calling Hugo, to let him know just how easy it was to forgive and forget him, and to show him how I didn’t just survive without him, I actually flourished.

  I went into my room to get ready for the day, 95% dressing for Paul who’d come to pick me up later …and maybe 5% dressing for that idiot Hugo. I was done with Hugo Turner, no question. But it would be fun to show him just what he missed out on.

  Chapter 3 - Hugo

  The day I introduced you to my parents was… interesting. You were wild. You always wore crazy stuff, always had some over-the-top outfit that caught everyone’s attention. Even back then you were a bombshell. You stole the limelight and kept it, and I remember just sitting and watching you, in awe. You were witty and charming and lively. How the hell had I convinced a girl with an ass that perfect to ever put up with me? I remember my dad giving me a joke high five when he met you. He said, “damn girl! Do you have a sister?” and my mom pretended to punch him and everyone laughed.

  “Ok, Lisa, the next round, you’re going to try and actually get the car to go straight, right?” I teased. She gave me a playful shove but didn’t tear her eyes away from the TV screen.

  “Yes, enjoy it, the more you boast now the sweeter it’ll be when I beat your ass later,” she said, the control clutched tightly in her hands.

  We were three siblings all together: my twin brother and I, and little baby Lisa who came a few years later like the family’s cherry on top. My brother Max was only a few minutes older than me, but as we’d both learned the hard way, sometimes a few minutes makes all the difference. It was cool, though. He was happy to play the big brother, and I was happy to do my own thing. It was kind of the big talking point in our family. Identical twin boys who both became Navy SEALs? Doesn’t happen every day. But the truth was that for most of the time growing up, it was really Lisa and I who were thick as thieves. I loved Max to death but to be honest, he was the person least like me in all the world. Dude was good looking, though, I had to give him that.

  Lisa and I did another lap on that cheesy PlayStation racing game she always picked when it was her turn to pick games. It was just like old times, being here at mom’s, goofing around while Max fretted about… oh, I don’t know, the economy or something. Mom had us over this Sunday for lunch, but she had decided to occupy herself with spring-cleaning the basement, and Max was pitching in by helping her haul out old boxes of Christmas ornaments.

  “Lisa, oh my god I finally figured it out. You do realize you’re supposed to cross over the finish line, right? Even though you’re doing a great job playing in the trees over there though,” I said as she clipped a street lamp and spun off the road, leaving me to zoom past her in my bright pink monster truck.

  “Shut up! Besides, I was just hanging back so you didn’t feel too bad when I have to beat you later.”

  My pink truck went too hard over a ramp and I spun too wide around a corner, losing seconds and giving Lisa just enough of a chance to come skidding past me again.

  “Hey!”

  “Sorry, what? I can’t hear you over the cheering,” she laughed while her car sped ahead.

  “You little shit.”

  “Since you’re the expert, tell me, what does it mean when confetti falls out the sky and they wave a banner that says winner at me?” she said, smirking sweetly at me.

  “It means you’re a little shit. Best of five?” I said and tossed the controller aside.

  “Hey kids, hate to break this up, but could you both make yourself useful here?”

  We both turned to see Max trudging up the stairs with a dusty cardboard box in his arms.

  “Useful? I’m too beautiful to be useful,” I said.

  “And I’m too smart,” Lisa chipped in.

  “Very funny you two. Come on, help your brother carry all this crap out, the dust is killing my allergies,” mom said, following closely behind him with a box of her own.

  “Last one to win mom’s heart back is a rotten egg,” I said and sprang off the sofa and down the basement stairs, with Lisa running after me.

  “Too late!” she cried after us. “You’re both horrible disappointments. Come Max, my favorite child, let’s have a look at what’s in here.”

  Lisa and I grabbed some boxes and joined the procession.

  “I really need to convince your father to just spend a little on some proper shelving down there,” mom said and grasped her aching back.

  “Hey, that’s my inheritance you’re spending,” I said and placed my box next to hers. She swatted my shoulder.

  “By the way, funny guy, you’ll be interested to know who I bumped into today,” she said. We all sat around the boxes and began examining the contents.

  “How much you wanna bet I’m not interested at all?” I teased.

  Now it was Max who thumped my arm and gave me a stern look.

  “Just kidding, who?” I said.

  “That sweet girl, you know, what’s-her-name. Your old girlfriend. Becky.” Mom kept on untangling Christmas lights but everyone else froze and looked at me, waiting for my reaction.

  “Mom, it was
his fiancée,” Lisa said quietly. Now Max gave her the stern look.

  “Well, yes, fine. Fiancée. You have to marry though for it to be a fiancée, right? If you didn’t marry her… then it’s just a girlfriend.”

  “Mom…” Max looked like he was gearing up to go into one of his big brother mediator modes.

  “It’s okay, yeah, she wasn’t really my fiancée,” I said and tried to smile. What were the chances? I hadn’t seen or heard from her in years and now all of a sudden it felt like I had a red-haired, pouty lipped demon crawling all over my life.

  “Why’d you let such a sweet girl like her go anyway, baby? I saw her at that furniture shop next to Joey’s, you know the one? Do you know she’s working at Hybrid Golden these days?”

  “Good for her,” I said, and hated how they all seemed to be looking at me like they expected more. I shrugged and began fishing out broken Christmas tree baubles.

  “She’s single, you know,” mom said.

  I stopped and looked at all of them.

  “Can you guys not? We broke up for a reason.”

  “Yeah, you went on deployment. Now you’re back…” mom continued, her gaze unrelenting.

  “So? We’ve both changed since then,” I said. “I mean, I’m guessing” I added, feeling all at once that all the separate threads of my life were getting way too close to one another these days.

  “Maybe you could give it another go, though? You guys really were so wonderful together.”

  “Mom, thanks, but can we drop it?”

  “Of course, baby. But who knows. Maybe it’s fate. Maybe you’re meant to try get her to take you back…”

  “Wait wait wait, I’d be the one taking her back,” I said. Mom laughed, shook her head and went down the basement stairs again. Lisa turned to me with obvious mischief in her eyes.

  “She works at Hybrid Golden? Dude, she’s probably raking it in. I bet she got hot too.”

  I gave both her and Max a thin smile and pretended to be deeply interested in the crumbling paper decorations at the bottom of the box.

  “I’m sure she’s lovely. I wish her all the best,” I said.

  Max was chuckling under his breath.

  “Why would I want a girlfriend again, anyway, huh? Why is that always the assumption? I’m enjoying my life. I have my freedom.”

  “Hugo’s too beautiful to have a girlfriend,” Lisa teased.

  “Damn right I am.”

  “Still, she was pretty cool, wasn’t she? I remember Becky,” Max said.

  “She was awesome,” Lisa added.

  “Well, great, why don’t you two both marry her then?”

  “You know what I liked about Becky?” Lisa continued. “She was the only one who could ever keep you in line, you know that? She took no bullshit from you.”

  “Oh, spare me.”

  “No, it’s true. One of a kind, that woman.”

  I scowled.

  “Come on, Hugo, don’t be mad. It’s not our fault you let such an awesome woman get away.”

  The rest of the day carried on like this, in the same way Sunday afternoons at the folks’ always do. But my heart wasn’t all in it. Lisa and Max meant well, but I didn’t know how to deal with them just then beyond the jokes and banter. My family, in their characteristic way, had bluntly said what I hadn’t really had the guts to admit to myself: Becky was successful. The few moments I had seen her were enough to confirm that she was as beautiful as ever – maybe even more so.

  But what did I want, for her to disappear now just because we weren’t together anymore? Had I really expected that her life would just stop progressing simply because I wasn’t in it anymore?

  My instincts never let me down, on anything. But when it came to thinking about Becky it’s like all of that just short-circuited. Were they right? Did I make a huge mistake? I would never have become a SEAL if Becky and I stayed together. I would never have met all the brilliant men I did, never have achieved what I did, if I had agreed to settle down with her and play house.

  Wasn’t that fate?

  Chapter 4 - Rebecca

  I remember the rain. We had planned to go out but the weather was awful. It just poured. It was dark except for that street lamp that was outside that shitty old apartment you were staying in back then. We kept the drapes open and watched as the water running down the windows caught the light and made dancing shapes on the wall opposite us. I cuddled in your arms and we watched it, spellbound. When we both got naked, the drops projected onto our bodies. It felt like magic. You said I was beautiful. That you had never met anyone like me before. That you had never felt that way before that night...

  “I just don’t understand. Have you done it or haven’t you done it?” I said, trying my hardest to reign in the volume of my voice.

  “The money’s there Becky, I just need to get some stuff sorted out with my online banking before they let me make the transfer.”

  “So… you haven’t done it then.” At this point, a mere few days before I was due to move to my new condo and away from Kirsten forever, I was almost ready to just write off this deposit.

  “Not technically, the deposit still has to be made, but listen, the money’s there,” she said, getting irritable with me.

  I could do nothing but turn away from her so she couldn’t see the look on my face. Squabbling over my rental deposit was not how I envisioned beginning my brand new adult life working for our city’s most illustrious ad agency. Hadn’t I worked hard to be free of all this shit? It was like Kirsten was doing her best to cram as much of her bullshit in as possible before I left. I groaned and grabbed a glass, placed it in the center of a sheet of newspaper and tried to just focus on wrapping it carefully.

  “You know, I’ve honored every single part of our rental agreement, to the letter,” I said under my breath, and put the glass in the box. If she thought offering to help me pack would get her off scot-free, she was wrong.

  “Becky, I’m on it, okay?”

  “The whole time, you’ve always been the one to break the rules we agreed to. You’re the one who makes noise after 11. You’re the one who brings guys around and…” I spun around as the sharp sound of glass shattering echoed through the kitchen. I saw Kirsten standing over the spinning shards of a water jug, a look of horror on her face. My mother had given me that jug.

  “Becky, oh my god Becky I’m so sorry,” she said, her hands at her mouth. I rushed in to wordlessly scoop up the broken pieces, my face hot. She looked down at me fretting to clean up the shattered glass and kept blubbering about how sorry she was, but I was too angry to talk.

  “Becky I didn’t mean it, it was just an accident,” she muttered.

  I stood tall and glared at her.

  “Why don’t you just go? I can pack by myself” I said, terse.

  Her lower lip trembled, and then, all at once to my shock and hers, she burst into tears and began sobbing loudly.

  “Kirsten, come on...” But she was inconsolable, quickly trying to smear away the torrent of tears falling down her face.

  “Becky, you’re right you know. I’m such a fucking idiot…”

  “I never said–”

  “What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I get my life on track?” she wailed. I rubbed my temples.

  “He never called me, of course. I texted him this morning, no response. Why am I surprised though, right? I can’t go on like this. I’m tired, Becky. What is it about me, huh? Is there just a big sign on my head inviting everyone to treat me like dirt?” she cried.

  The last thing I needed right now was for my flaky roommate to have a breakdown on me when I still had 90% of my stuff to pack up… but I did feel really bad seeing her like this. I went over to her and gently hugged her shoulders.